USRE29686E - Orthodontic elastic band with varying outer periphery - Google Patents

Orthodontic elastic band with varying outer periphery Download PDF

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Publication number
USRE29686E
USRE29686E US05/789,458 US78945877A USRE29686E US RE29686 E USRE29686 E US RE29686E US 78945877 A US78945877 A US 78945877A US RE29686 E USRE29686 E US RE29686E
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United States
Prior art keywords
orthodontic
elastic band
portions
elastic
band
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Expired - Lifetime
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US05/789,458
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English (en)
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Melvin Wallshein
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Publication date
Priority claimed from US05/566,752 external-priority patent/US3961421A/en
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
    • A61C7/00—Orthodontics, i.e. obtaining or maintaining the desired position of teeth, e.g. by straightening, evening, regulating, separating, or by correcting malocclusions
    • A61C7/12—Brackets; Arch wires; Combinations thereof; Accessories therefor

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to orthodontic band appliances, and particularly to an elastic orthodontic band particularly suitable for use with orthodontic brackets which are mounted on teeth for transmitting forces to the brackets when the elastic band is deformed.
  • the present invention is directed to an elastic band which facilitates use in a patient's mouth, especially when the band must extend in a stretched condition between several brackets, and to facilitate tying a knot at the end thereof after the band has been properly stretched between the patient's teeth.
  • the orthodontic band commonly used for the above purpose consists merely of an elongated, smooth surface, elastic band.
  • elastic bands are slippery and difficult to handle.
  • the band after the band has been mounted between brackets in its appropriate stretched condition, it is necessary for the operator to tie the ends thereof in a knot so as to retain the band in its stretched condition.
  • an elongated elastic orthodontic band has alternately arranged larger and smaller dimension portions relative to a substantially straight axial line passing through the elongated band, the dimensions being taken in the same direction and in a common plane containing the straight axial line.
  • the elastic band has alternately arranged larger and smaller diameter portions provided by protuberances, either spaced or adjacent each other.
  • a desired variable or undulating surface configuration in the axial direction is obtained by twisting and heat sealing together two elongated elastic bands, or twisting and heat setting a single elastic band.
  • the larger portions of the elastic band of the present invention may be smaller in overall size than the opening of the orthodontic bracket through which the band is to be passed.
  • the larger portions of the band are smaller than the bracket openings, secure retention of the band is still achieved since the band is generally angularly oriented relative to the bracket when it passes out of the bracket opening.
  • the larger portions in cooperation with the smaller portions of the band, retain the elastic band in a stretched condition between orthodontic brackets even when the operator releases tension on the free end of the orthodontic elastic band.
  • the arrangement of the present invention facilitates tying of a knot after the band has been installed in a patient's mouth, substantially eliminating the inadvertent relaxing of the band and resultant release of tension, and eliminating the necessity of having a second person cooperate with the operator in tying the knot.
  • the orthodontic band of the present invention is preferably wholly made from elastic material with the larger portions integral with the smaller portions.
  • the band may be made of several elastic pieces bonded or otherwise sealed together.
  • the protuberances on the elastic band may comprise in elastic material connected to a strand of elastic material in any conventional manner.
  • the particular shape of the protuberances on the elastic band, or the particular shape of the irregular or undulating outer surface thereof, is not a major controlling factor. Various shapes may be used.
  • FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a plurality of teeth having brackets mounted thereon, with an arch wire extending between said teeth, and with an elastic orthodontic band according to the present invention mounted thereon;
  • FIG. 2 is a section view of the bracket shown in FIG. 1, in an enlarged state;
  • FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of still another embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a further embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 7a is a front elevational view of a still further embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 7b is a sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 7a taken along line 7b-7b in FIG. 7a;
  • FIG. 8a is a front elevational view of a still further embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 8b is a sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 8a taken along line 8b-8b in FIG. 8a;
  • FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of an elastic band in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 is a sectional view of another type of bracket with which the invention is useful.
  • FIGS. 2 and 10 illustrate end sectional views of typical brackets 2,14, respectively mounted on a tooth 1.
  • the brackets 2,14 are conventional, the bracket of FIG. 2 being illustrated in the drawings of copending parent application Ser. No. 310,574, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
  • the brackets 2 have openings 3 (see FIG. 2) for receiving an arch wire 4 therein (see FIG. 1).
  • the arch wire 4 is retained in the openings 3 of the brackets 2 by means of wires 5 which pass around the arch wires 4 and through the openings 6,7 of the brackets 2.
  • the ends of the wires 5 are twisted as shown in FIG. 1 to retain the arch wire in the bracket openings 3 in a conventional manner.
  • Elastic rings can be used to retain arch wire 4.
  • another conventional bracket 14 defines an opening or channel 15 with the tooth 1, and further defines an opening or channel 16 with the tooth 1 and locking pin 17 thereof. Either opening 15,16 may receive the elastic band of the present invention therein.
  • an orthodontic elastic band 8 is "woven" through the openings 6,7 of the brackets 2 in a stretched condition so as to provide orthodontic forces to the brackets 2 which are secured to the teeth 1, to tend to move the teeth 1 in a desired direction, depending upon the application of the elastic forces created by the arch wire 4 and elastic band 8.
  • the elastic band 8 of the present invention is provided with a variable outer periphery in the axial direction of the elongated band, the variable periphery being at least in a plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the elongated band.
  • This peripheral configuration of the elastic band permits the operator to release tension on the end of the band without the band relaxing over a substantial length thereof which had been previously woven or mounted to the brackets 2. This is because enlarged or protruding portions of the elastic band of the present invention will engage the end of an opening 6 or 7 of the bracket 2 when tension in the band is released, thereby preventing substantial portions of the already mounted band from totally relaxing as has been a difficulty with the prior art.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of the invention wherein the elastic band 8 comprises strand portions 9 having enlarged nodules or protuberances 10 spaced along the length thereof.
  • the nodules 10 may be formed integrally with the strand 9 or may be added to the strand 9 later.
  • the nodules 10 are integral with the strand 9 and both are made from an elastomeric material, such as rubber or plastic.
  • the nodules 10 need not be made from an elastic material.
  • the nodules 10 need not be generally spherical in shape as shown in FIG. 3.
  • the exact shape of the nodules 10 is not critical and if desired, they may take the shape as illustrated by nodules 10" in FIG. 6.
  • the nodules may take any convenient shape, as long as the variable outer peripheral configuration of the strand 8 results so that the protruding portions of the strand 8 may engage the ends of the openings 6,7 of a bracket 2 to prevent relaxing of the strand.
  • the nodules 10 be of larger dimension than the openings of the channels 6,7 in the bracket 2.
  • the elastic band is generally engaged with the brackets such that the band 8 leaves the opening of a channel of the bracket at an angle such that the band tends to press against the lower or base portion of the channels 6,7 of the bracket 2. Therefore, the undulating or irregular outer periperal surface of the elastic band 8 will tend to grip the edge of the opening of the bracket channels and be prevented by this action from relaxing from its stretched condition.
  • the bracket channels 6,7 generally have a wire 5, or an arch wire retaining elastic ring already mounted therein before the elastic band 8 is applied to the brackets.
  • the provision of the nodules 10 facilitates tying of the knot 11 at the free ends of the elastic band 8.
  • the nodules 10 will interengage with each other to prevent the first loop of the knot from loosening while the operator is making the second securing loop of the knot.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the modified embodiment of the elastic band of the present invention wherein the nodules 10' are more closely spaced than in the embodiment of FIG. 3. Similar resultant effects are obtained when using the embodiment of FIG. 4 as with the embodiment of FIG. 3.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a further example of the present invention wherein the elastic band is formed of a plurality of adjacent nodules 11.
  • the nodules 11 may be integrally formed with each other, for example by a molding technique, or may be individual nodules adhered together, for example by a heat treatment.
  • the nodules 11 are made of an elastic material so that the resultant elastic band may be stretched between brackets 2 to provide tooth moving forces.
  • a modified embodiment similar to that of FIG. 5, may have a saw-tooth outer peripheral configuration, and would provide similar resultant effects to the previously discussed embodiments.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention wherein the desired peripheral shape is achieved by twisting two strands 12 and 13 (see FIG. 7b) and heat treating the twisted strands so as to seal them together as illustrated in FIG. 7b and in order to provide an appropriate "set" to the material so that it retains its spiral configuration as shown in FIG. 7a.
  • this embodiment is not quite as satisfactory as the embodiments discussed above, but by virtue of the undulating surface in any given plane which passes through the longitudinal axis of the elastic band, retention effects with the channels 6,7 (FIG. 2) and 15,16 (FIG. 10) of the brackets and when tying knots are still achieved to such a degree that the band is useful in accordance with the present invention.
  • the elastic band of FIGS. 7a and 7b is fabricated of an elastomeric material which can be stretched to provide tooth moving forces.
  • FIG. 8 shows another embodiment comprised of an elastic band 18 of rectangular cross-section with a plurality of spaced twists 19 formed therein.
  • the twisted band is heat set to retain its twisted shape.
  • the twisted areas 19 may comprise any number of twists sufficient to define the smaller dimension portions of the resulting band.
  • the band 18 may also have a square or any other convenient starting shape which would result in smaller dimension portions 19 when twisted.
  • the widest portion of the elastic band in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the band, are smaller than the width of the channels 6,7 in the bracket 2, it should be clear that the nodules or other widest portions of the elastic band may be larger than the width of the channels 6,7 defined by the bracket 2.
  • the widest portions are larger than the channels defined by the bracket, it is advantageous to use spaced protuberances or nodules which are interconnected by smaller strand portions, such as portions 9 or 9' of FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, the strand portions 9,9' being of small enough dimension to easily fit within the channel 6,7 of the bracket.
  • the widest portions are larger than the channels 6,7, when they are elastomeric, as preferred, they reduce in size when stretched, thereby fitting in channels 6,7 or channels 15,16.
  • FIGS. 3-6 are shown to be symmetrical in a plane perpencidular to the longitudinal axis of the band, it should be clear that non-symmetrical arrangements, such as shown in FIG. 9, for example, may be provided. That is, the protuberances may be semi-circular in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the band, or any other desired off-set or irregular shape to provide undulating or varying peripheral shapes in the longitudinal direction of the elastic band.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (AREA)
  • Dentistry (AREA)
  • Epidemiology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Dental Tools And Instruments Or Auxiliary Dental Instruments (AREA)
US05/789,458 1975-04-10 1977-04-21 Orthodontic elastic band with varying outer periphery Expired - Lifetime USRE29686E (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US05/566,752 US3961421A (en) 1972-11-29 1975-04-10 Orthodontic elastic band with varying outer periphery

Related Parent Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US310574A Continuation-In-Part US3879850A (en) 1972-11-29 1972-11-29 Orthodontic elastic appliance
US05/566,752 Reissue US3961421A (en) 1972-11-29 1975-04-10 Orthodontic elastic band with varying outer periphery

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
USRE29686E true USRE29686E (en) 1978-07-04

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US05/789,458 Expired - Lifetime USRE29686E (en) 1975-04-10 1977-04-21 Orthodontic elastic band with varying outer periphery

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) USRE29686E (de)
JP (1) JPS51121997A (de)
DE (1) DE2518724A1 (de)
FR (1) FR2325354A1 (de)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102017104813B4 (de) 2017-03-08 2024-02-01 Gunhild Halke Retainer

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3174787A (en) * 1962-10-22 1965-03-23 Irvin R Kolman Adjustable tension straps
US3593421A (en) * 1967-11-15 1971-07-20 Allen C Brader Multihelical omniarch

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3174787A (en) * 1962-10-22 1965-03-23 Irvin R Kolman Adjustable tension straps
US3593421A (en) * 1967-11-15 1971-07-20 Allen C Brader Multihelical omniarch

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS51121997A (en) 1976-10-25
FR2325354A1 (fr) 1977-04-22
FR2325354B1 (de) 1980-03-28
DE2518724A1 (de) 1976-10-21

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